Students Create Unique Bike Wash for New Sideling Hill Trailhead
Students Create Unique Bike Wash for New Sideling Hill Trailhead
Outdoor installation blends creativity and functionality
Middletown, Pa. — In September, the Pennsylvania Turnpike (PA Turnpike) will offer cyclists, hikers and casual explorers easy access to a vast network of trails and historic sites when it officially opens the Sideling Hill Trailhead. This exciting new access point for outdoor recreation features a first-of-its-kind bike washing station. A functional piece of public art, the 12-foot by 25-foot tree-shaped station took shape thanks to students at Forbes Road and Southern Fulton High Schools. Students, with assistance from skilled trades and art professionals, are placing the finishing touches on the structure, which will sit at the trailhead’s entrance.
“The students’ creativity blew us away. They pushed boundaries, mixing art, design and technical skills. We are excited to showcase their work and shine light on Pennsylvania’s talented youth at the Sideling Hill Trailhead, which will draw tourism and outdoor enthusiasts to our Commonwealth,” said Kelli Roberts, Chief Strategy and Communications Officer for the PA Turnpike. “We look forward to unveiling it, and the rest of the trailhead’s amenities, this fall.”
The bike washing station project is a collaborative partnership between the PA Turnpike, the PA Council on the Arts and Forbes Road and Southern Fulton High Schools and Mellott Company of Warfordsburg. Support for this Arts in Education (AIE) collaboration was provided by: Cultural Alliance of York County, in regional partnership with Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts , a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, community EITC donations, and in conjunction with, Mellott, Pennsylvania, Paint Supplier - Carboline Global Inc, Plate Supplier - Metals USA Plates & Shapes Inc , and materials sponsors NiSource Foundation/Columbia Gas and the Southern Fulton Educational Foundation.
Justin Ayala, Director of Arts in Education for the Cultural Alliance of York County, said he hopes that the story of this partnership helps the public gain a deeper appreciation for the art and see it in a new light.
“We regularly encounter and enjoy public art, yet we rarely stop to consider how it came to be or who shaped its creation,” said Ayala. “Projects like the Sideling Hill bike wash, born from rich, intergenerational community partnerships, demonstrate the power of thinking big, creative problem-solving, and collaboration. No single artist or group could have achieved this alone, but together, we’ve crafted a stunning balance between form and function.”
Inspired by the area’s natural beauty and Pennsylvania’s native landscape, the sculpture includes a summer and fall oak tree panel on each side, with the Keystone logo and Liberty Bell within the trees. A sign reading “Bike Wash” in soap-bubble-like font, sits on the top. Visitors riding nearby trails can access a hose at the bike wash to clean up after riding.
The project is led by Carolyn Mottern, an art teacher at Southern Fulton High School, Bruce Shipley – a Fulton County Area Vocational Technical School welding instructor, and Jeremy Waak – a sculptor, metalsmith and teaching artist for PA Council on the Arts.
“The collaboration between all of the students and professionals involved in this project has been incredible and humbling,” said Mottern. “I am grateful to have been part of such a fantastic group and appreciate the opportunity being given to the students in our area. Providing them ownership over something that will be seen by so many people as they travel through our community is a unique experience and one that they will be able to take with them the rest of their lives.“
“With large collaboration projects, like the Sideling Hill Bike Wash, I want every participant to be able to see themselves in the results; to have a moment where they can point and say, ‘I did that,’ or ‘That was my idea,’” said Waak. “That is what I consider a successful result, and I believe we have achieved that here.”
A strong partner with Southern Fulton High School, Mellott’s involvement as the Pennsylvania Turnpike prepares to celebrate its 85th anniversary represents a full-circle moment, as the international leader in the crushing and screening business for aggregate mining provided stone during the Turnpike’s early construction. Beyond donating labor and material, Mellott provided project management, detailed engineering, fabrication, assembly, and painting of the bike wash structure.
“Coming together to successfully accomplish goals is what Mellott is all about, whether for customers, ourselves, or our community,” said Greg Walters, Sr. Manager of Safety, Training & Performance for Mellott. “For this project, besides helping our community, the added benefit was getting to better know and work with the school leaders, students, and the Turnpike representatives. As projects tend to go, always coming down to ‘crunch time’, our engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, service, and training departments performed flawlessly working to support this community effort.”
With the project complete, PA Turnpike engineers will work to install the structure at the Sideling Hill Service Plaza. It will be unveiled at the Sideling Hill Trailhead Opening, held from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. The event will include a short speaking program and ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Located just beyond Sideling Hill Service Plaza’s restricted gates, the trailhead is near the Sideling Hill and Rays Hill abandoned tunnels and will offer access to more than 600 miles of trails within a 25-mile radius, including attractions like Buchanan State Forest, Raystown Lake and Bicycle PA Route S. The trail can be accessed by travelling 1.5 miles on shared roadway from the trailhead. The TOPP Trail is under development and is designated for non-motorized users. For more information on the trailhead, please visit PA Service Plazas - Sideling Hill Trailhead | PA Turnpike.
A national transportation leader, the Pennsylvania Turnpike (PA Turnpike) is the second largest tolling facility in the United States with the most miles. The PA Turnpike proudly supports safety and convenience for its more than 550,000 daily customers through 24-7 roadside assistance, round-the-clock food and fuel at 17 service plazas and a dedicated maintenance force and State Police Troop. The PA Turnpike’s approximately 1,400-person local workforce is unified in its mission; to operate a safe, reliable, customer-valued toll road system that supports national mobility and commerce. For more information about the PA Turnpike’s mission, vision and values, please visit Home | PA Turnpike.
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Media Contacts:
Marissa Orbanek, Press Secretary: (267) 408-5151, morbanek@paturnpike.com
Crispin Havener, Assistant Press Secretary: (717) 870-2841, chavener@paturnpike.com